The #1 Manufacturing and Warehouse Management Software for QuickBooks

Exciting news about Fishbowl and QuickBooks inventory management

The Shipping module allows you to pack products into cartons and ship them to your customers. And Fishbowl hotkeys allow you to do both of those things even faster. You can even add new cartons into the system for later use. You’ll find all of the hotkeys for this module here:(more…)

Last week we took a holistic view of hotkeys in the Picking module. Now we will get closer to the actual items that are being picked and show how hotkeys can help you change their status and adjust them in other ways to improve the picking process.(more…)

We have picked a half-dozen hotkeys in Fishbowl’s Picking module that will really help out as you begin the order fulfillment process. You can create batch picks, print pick tickets, and much more by clicking a few buttons on your computer keyboard.(more…)

Last week we talked about hotkeys that can be used generally in the Sales Order module. This time we will drill down deeper into that module and show specific things you can do when you have an open sales order you are working on. There are a number of hotkeys that can help you navigate and manipulate line items as you see fit.

Order fulfillment can seem like a pretty long and intimidating process at first. But take a look at these hotkeys in Fishbowl’s Sales Order module and you will discover that there are a lot of shortcuts you can take to considerably speed up the whole process.

Seriously, you might be amazed by all of the things you can do with a few keystrokes. Check them out here:(more…)

One
of the most frustrating things for business owners is having a customer ready
to buy, but not having any of the product in stock. Your warehouse and
inventory management policies should be designed to minimize this, but no
system is perfect. You should continually analyze and benchmark your inventory
policies to see if any new or existing problems are putting a strain on your
supply chain.

Here
are some of the top reasons why companies run out of important products and how
to avoid these major supply chain hang-ups.

Poor Inventory Accuracy

Obviously
business owners must have accurate inventory records in order to properly list
or delist products on sales outlets. But accomplishing this is harder than just
knowing it. Perhaps the biggest factor in knowing your inventory is your
inventory management system. Outdated systems can put a huge damper on your
efforts. Don’t miss out on all the perks of a contemporary inventory management
system.

However,
even the best technologies aren’t a silver bullet. You should do a
comprehensive manual inventory count once a year at minimum to ensure your
counts are truly accurate. And it’s even better if you do regular counts of
smaller samples of your products to identify problems sooner.

Problematic Sales Forecasts

Knowing
what you have is the first priority, but knowing what you will need is a close
second. Forecasting your sales and adjusting your inventory isn’t something you
should do by shooting from the hip and guessing. It’s a much better approach to
use previous sales data, integrated with any sales or special promotions you
plan to run.

As
with inventory management, you can find business software that helps you
forecast your inventory. Proper forecasting has a range of benefits, including
needing lower safety stock levels, decreased out-of-stock times, and a
lightened backload of unsold products you need to get rid of.

Not Enough Suppliers

Got
that fancy new tech flying off the shelves? You better be sure you have plenty
of potential suppliers to restock that product right away, or you will miss out
on continuing the flurry of sales. Predicting sales can be tricky, but you can
stay extra vigilant by finding more product suppliers than you may need early
in the process in order to minimize out-of-stock products.

It
never hurts to have more potential business partnerships in the pipeline, so do
your due diligence and build your network even if it doesn’t seem like you have
an immediate need. You also never know if your current suppliers are going to
have something unexpected happen and you lose out on product at a crucial time.

Another
advantage of this type of extra networking is you may discover suppliers with
even better deals or products than your current partnerships offer. Never stay
satisfied with the status quo and always keep your eyes open.

Poor Transportation Company
Performance

If
your product shipments are inaccurate or late, you could be wasting all your
forecasting efforts. You want your shipment accuracy and delivery times to be
as dependable as possible, so don’t settle for less-than-stellar partnerships.

There
are plenty of excellent transportation companies out there with the expertise
to deliver exceptional service. There are many well-established companies like C.R. England who have developed a serious
reputation for reliability. You may also investigate smaller companies in your
particular area with good reputations that can also get the job done.

You
can take control of your supply chain and avoid these major factors that
contribute to running out of stock. Every business wants to maximize product,
so don’t lose out because of lax inventory processes!

You can open a couple of helpful wizards in the Transfer Order module with these two Fishbowl hotkeys. Check them out and see if they might just be what you have been looking for when creating transfer orders.(more…)

There is no faster way to create watches in Fishbowl than with the aid of a hotkey. You can also edit and delete watches just as easily as creating them. Find out how to quickly navigate the Monitor module with these hotkeys!(more…)

You can make all sorts of changes to items within Fishbowl’s Inventory module with the help of these hotkeys. Check them out and give them a try the next time you need to adjust, move, or scrap inventory, among other things.(more…)